Credit Cards have become number one monetary instrument of today. For many a people, it has become a status symbol. For some, it is a luxury because it is convenient, safe and easy to handle. Most of the people find it a pleasant way to splurge large amount of money on things they always wanted to buy without having a look in their wallet.

But excuse me, I beg to differ. This plastic money – yes, convenient it is. Safe – hardly. And, pleasant – Forget it. It is far from being it. The countdown begins after the card-shopping, when the bill statements start coming in for the numerous presents you have bought for your friends and relatives on their birthdays and anniversaries. The total sum can be nasty for you when you end up with enormous bills which you may not be able to pay back with your slender salary. The downside of this paper money can pause a big problem if you, by chance, skip one monthly installment and the interest on your purchases starts piling up. As it is going to be bigger and bigger with each consecutive month, you’ll realize that you are being sucked further and further into your credit which will be difficult for you to pay despite the best of your efforts. Soon enough you’ll find yourself trapped in a frightful debt-trap much to your chagrin because so quickly the debt grows that by the time you get the next statement, you may owe more than twice of the minimum amount against your total outstanding dues.

To gain a perspective on how crippling the debt is, you can imagine your plight when it starts playing havoc with your life. It is not hard to envisage how it would sap your potential if every month you have to pay more than half of your income on the interest on your borrowings.

The heavy burden of this debt is hanging with a terrible weight upon you all the time because losses and debts are well-high killing to a man of honour. You are unable to enjoy anything in life. You may be attending social functions, visiting your friends or sitting in front of T.V. rattling all day with its unknown voices and pictured faces, but your mind will be elsewhere – always thinking of how to pay back your debt.

Swallowing your pride, you are forced to borrow from your friends and relatives much against your wishes to wipe off the shocking debt in which you find yourself terribly involved. To cope with this miserable situation, you learn to observe severe amenities in life. This meant an economy so severe that only the most rigid care can pay the huge bills with your meager means and slim bank account. Even if the stringent economy is not enough to meet your obnoxious expanses, you indulge in various saundry works for these are trying times. And, every penny is more than welcome at home.

But if at the end, you are able to clear all your debt and learn to live off economically, start building a personal nestegg to help yourself in the future. But not to strike the same problem again, make a bold decision – not to ever have a Credit Card again in life.

Anjana Datta.

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